KISSIMMEE, Fla. – An hour’s worth of work for the Crew’s reserves was more than
enough to keep the club unbeaten in the Walt Disney World Pro Soccer Classic.

After using his starters for the first hour in Saturday’s win against Toronto FC, head coach
Robert Warzycha flipped the script against Philadelphia. The result was a 4-0 win on a hot, windy
afternoon at the ESPN Wide World of Sports complex.

“I think our overall performance was very good and very solid, so I’m happy about that aspect,”
he said. “Obviously if you play well and you do good enough on the field, you usually win. We
played a very solid game, both units.”

Ethan Finlay scored in each half, tying him for the team lead in goals this preseason after
being kept off the stat sheet during his rookie season.

His first goal was officially unassisted but might have come from non-roster member Konrad
Warzycha in the 39th minute, and his second came after a nice run from Eddie Gaven into the area in
the 52nd.

“I’ve definitely come in with a lot more confidence this year and I think the coaches have
instilled that in me,” Finlay said. “I’ve set some higher goals to build off a solid rookie season,
so yeah, I’m definitely feeling confident. I want to push the guys on the first team and see if I
can find myself in the starting squad come March 2.”

The Crew took the lead in the 28th minute when Justin Meram found forward Ryan Finley in the
middle of the field near the penalty area. The rookie drew Union goalkeeper Chase Harrison out of
his box, dribbled to his left and calmly slotted it into the net.

“Justin played a great ball through,” Finley said. “I just ran at the goalie and finished it
off. Obviously I think our attacking is jelling now. Everyone is learning how each other plays and
playing good balls in. when you have good midfielders and good wingers, it’s easy for the forwards.
Those guys did all the hard work and I was just there to finish it off.”

Finlay also assisted on the Crew’s final goal of the afternoon one minute after his second goal.
After Gaven crossed the ball to the right side, Finlay took a touch and sent in a high cross to
forward Aaron Schoenfeld, who headed it home.

Subbing ...

At the half, Gaven replaced Warzycha and unsigned Kyle Hyland replaced Danny O’Rourke, who had
worn the captain’s armband for the first half. Hyland lined up at left back, with Drew Beckie
sliding inside to pair with Eric Gehrig and Chad Barson remaining at right back. Kevan George, who
had been paired with Gehrig in the central defense, moved to O’Rourke’s vacated holding midfielder
spot.

Then everything went haywire in the 61st minute when everyone on the field aside from Gaven was
subbed out in favor of the starting unit. Here’s what it looked like:

F: Higuain, Arrieta

MF: Oduro, Viana, Sanchez, Gaven

D: Wahl, Glauber, Marshall, Williams

GK: Gruenebaum

It’s probably what the starting lineup will look like March 2, although Warzycha is still
looking at a few changes. Included among them is where to play Viana, who could be at left back or
in the midfield.

“He’s a good player, so he can play both positions,” the coach said. “He can play as a left back
or he can play in the central midfielder. We’re going to play a few more games and make a decision
on where to plug him in. Tyson Wahl is playing very well over there, so there’s no reason to do
anything different. But you have players like Tony Tchani and Danny O’Rourke and Kevan (George) and
a few others who can play in the middle. We’ll see what we do the next few games.”

Notes ...

The Crew is 2-0 in the tournament and 4-1 overall this preseason, outscoring its opponents
8-3.

- Gaven and Marshall also wore the captain's armband at different times during the game.

- Finlay's two goals tie him with former trialist Sercan Güvenisik for tops in the
preseason.